Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) made minced meat of Franklin by dropping him in the third round and stopping him in the fifth with a crushing uppercut.

After the fight, the WBO announced that Itauma will soon be installed to become the No. 1 mandatory challenger for Fabio Wardley’s title. Wardley is set to defend his belt against Daniel Dubois on May 9.

Murat Gassiev, a WBA secondary beltholder, also threw his name in the mix to fight Itauma immediately afterward.

IBA director Al Siesta, who works with Gassiev and was ringside to watch Itauma’s latest encounter, said he’s ready to make the fight if Itauma promoter Frank Warren is inclined to give his 21-year-old southpaw phenom a real test.

“We really want big fights, and Gassiev would really embrace fighting Itauma, and we would love to make that fight,” Siesta told The Ring. “So what Itauma beat a middle-of-the-road fighter like Franklin? Jermaine was not a puncher.

“Itauma hasn't beaten a single real, live opponent yet. He looks really impressive against over-the-hill guys, but I still believe he is an incredible and exceptional talent. Let's see if it makes sense for them, because Murat is a very risky matchup for Moses.”

Itauma is ranked No. 5 by The Ring, and Gassiev is rated No. 9.

Gassiev (33-2, 26 KOs) is a former cruiserweight titleholder and is coming off a sixth-round stoppage win against Kubrat Pulev in December for the secondary crown he now carries. Gassiev is 7-1 as a heavyweight ever since competing in the weight class six years ago.

Although Gassiev would be a solid fight for Itauma, Queensberry’s Warren has a loaded heavyweight roster and could be inclined to keep Itauma’s next fight in-house against a group that includes Wardley, Dubois, Jared Anderson, Filip Hrgovic, Joe Joyce, Agit Kabayel, Lawrence Okolie, Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, among several others.